Ouésso

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Town and commune in Republic of the Congo

title: "Ouésso" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["sangha-department-(republic-of-the-congo)", "populated-places-in-the-republic-of-the-congo", "cameroon–republic-of-the-congo-border-crossings"] description: "Town and commune in Republic of the Congo" topic_path: "general/sangha-department-republic-of-the-congo" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouésso" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Town and commune in Republic of the Congo ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
	official_name
image_skyline	File:Ouesso.jpg
image_caption	Ouésso in 2015
pushpin_map	Republic of the Congo
pushpin_label_position	bottom
pushpin_map_caption	Location in the Republic of the Congo
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	[[Image:Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg
subdivision_type1	Department
subdivision_name1	Sangha Department
subdivision_type2	District
subdivision_name2	Ouésso District
subdivision_type3	Commune
subdivision_name3	Ouésso
area_total_km2	5
population_as_of	2023 census
population_total	75095
population_density_km2	auto
population_blank1_title	Ethnicities
population_blank2_title	Religions
coordinates
elevation_m	340
settlement_type	Town and Commune
::

Ouésso (in kikongo: Weso) is a town and commune in the Ouésso District in northern Republic of the Congo at the border of Cameroon, lying on the Sangha River and surrounded by rainforest. It is the capital of the Sangha Department. Its population was 75,095 in 2023, the date of the country's last official census.

Economy

Ouésso is one of the four special economic zones in the Republic of the Congo. The town's main industries are mining, forestry, agriculture, and wood processing. a power purchase agreement in 2017 with the Gezhouba Group led to the creation of the Liouesso Hydroelectric Power Station, which powers Ouésso.

Bushmeat

In 1994, Ouésso consumed 7,500 kilograms of bushmeat a week. The most sold animal in the bushmeat market are duikers, but gorillas, monkeys, and elephants were also sold. The meat was transported from Liousesso, a village southwest out Ouésso, and often on logging trucks from Cameroon. Ouésso lacks enforcement of the bushmeat market.

On 27 October 2016, ivory dealer Hamadou Abbo, and his accomplices, Minda Xavier and Gonock Evounanga Edgard, were each sentenced to 5 years in an Ouésso prison.

In May 2018, Guyvanho, an elephant poacher and ivory trader, was arrested and held in jail in Ouésso. On June 2, 12 days before his trial, he escaped from prison. He was arrested again on 31 May 2019. He attempted to escape, but failed, and was transferred to prison in Brazzaville.

Logging

Ouésso is a carbon negative area. Between 2001 and 2022, the town had a carbon sink of -8.40.

In 2010, the Parliament of the Republic of the Congo passed a law that gave protection to the country's indigenous pygmy and Baka people and their land. This made logging more difficult.

Transportation

In April 2007, a South Korean consortium proposed to build a railway to Ouésso from Brazzaville, in exchange for a concession to harvest timber.

In 2015, the city's port was extended 100 linear meters. The expansion was funded by the Development Bank of the Central African States, which has a complex in Ouésso.

Ouésso is connected to Brazzaville by a 828 km road titled the "RN2". In 2021, the Sangmelina-Ouésso Road was constructed, which connected Ouésso to Cameroon and removed the need for ferries. The road was 321.5 kilometers long, and costed US$354 million. The ceremony of its completion was attended by . In 2023, the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission built the Sangha Bridge and the Ouésso-Pokola Road for Ouésso. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by president Denis Sassou Nguesso.

Ouésso is served by the Ouésso Airport.

Climate

Ouésso has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am), bordering on a tropical rainforest climate (Af). | width = auto | location = Ouesso (1991-2020) | single line = Yes | metric first = Yes | Jan high C = 31.4 | Feb high C = 32.4 | Mar high C = 32.5 | Apr high C = 32.0 | May high C = 31.2 | Jun high C = 30.2 | Jul high C = 29.5 | Aug high C = 29.8 | Sep high C = 30.4 | Oct high C = 30.7 | Nov high C = 30.7 | Dec high C = 30.7 | year high C = 31.0 | Jan mean C = 25.2 | Feb mean C = 26.1 | Mar mean C = 26.3 | Apr mean C = 26.2 | May mean C = 25.9 | Jun mean C = 25.2 | Jul mean C = 24.7 | Aug mean C = 24.8 | Sep mean C = 24.7 | Oct mean C = 24.8 | Nov mean C = 24.9 | Dec mean C = 25.1 | year mean C = 25.3 | Jan low C = 19.7 | Feb low C = 20.5 | Mar low C = 21.2 | Apr low C = 21.4 | May low C = 21.2 | Jun low C = 20.8 | Jul low C = 20.6 | Aug low C = 20.5 | Sep low C = 20.4 | Oct low C = 20.6 | Nov low C = | Dec low C = 20.2 | year low C = 21.1 | precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm = 57.2 | Feb precipitation mm = 65.6 | Mar precipitation mm = 116.2 | Apr precipitation mm = 128.1 | May precipitation mm = 171.9 | Jun precipitation mm = 149.0 | Jul precipitation mm = 116.7 | Aug precipitation mm = 164.6 | Sep precipitation mm = 228.6 | Oct precipitation mm = 227.8 | Nov precipitation mm = 140.2 | Dec precipitation mm = 67.8 |source 1 = NOAA{{cite web |url =https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/archive/arc0216/0253808/4.4/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/RepublicOfCongo/CSV/OUESSO_64458.csv |title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = January 4, 2024}}}}

Notable people

Jane Vialle (1906–1953) French journalist, politician and women's rights activist
Stéphane Maurice Bongho-Nouarra (1937–2007), prime minister of the Republic of the Congo

References

(2021-03-23). "Annuaire Statistique du Congo 2018, chapitre 3 : organisation administrative". {{lang.
"Cinquieme Recensement General De La Population Et De L'habitation (RGPH-5): Populations Residentes Des Localites Du Congo". Institut National de la Statistique (INS).
"Congo (Rep.): Cities & Urban Localities". City Population.
Global Energy Interconnection Development & Cooperation Organization. (2020-04-06). "Research on Hydropower Development and Delivery in Congo River". Springer Nature.
Harris, Michael. (30 May 2017). "Congo Republic's 19.9-MW Liouesso hydroelectric project inaugurated". Hydro Review.
(2008). "A Study of the Bushmeat Trade in Ouesso, Republic of Congo". [[Conservation and Society]].
(29 October 2016). "Ouesso court: five years in prison for an ivory trafficker and his accomplices (Republic of the Congo)". [[Save the Elephants]].
"MEDIA STATEMENT: WCS Commends Congolese Justice System on 30-Year Sentence of Notorious Elephant Poacher and Ivory Trafficker in Republic of Congo".
Bax, Pauline. (24 August 2020). "Congo Republic Jails Man Accused of Killing 500 Elephants". [[Bloomberg News]].
Vizzuality. "Ouesso, Sangha, Republic of Congo Deforestation Rates & Statistics {{!}} GFW".
(2 August 2022). "How the Indigenous Baaka of the Congo are saving forests". [[Forest Stewardship Council]].
Butler, Rhett Ayers. (25 April 2007). "New railway will facilitate logging in Congo". [[Mongabay]].
(28 May 2015). "Port developments reflect the country's promising maritime future". The Worldfolio.
Shaban, Abdur Rahman Alfa. (4 March 2020). "Ouesso – The resource rich special economic zone in Congo's north". [[Africanews]].
"2.3 Republic of the Congo Road Network {{!}} Digital Logistics Capacity Assessments".
(29 December 2021). "Sangmelina-Ouesso Road inaugurated in Cameroon". Projects Today.
(13 June 2023). "Congolese president lays foundation stone for Chinese-built road project". [[National Development and Reform Commission]].

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